You Don't See That Every Day

I needed a break today. So I went out to the farm with the girls. There has been a lot of stress in the household over the remodel, the roofing, the pending rains. And other stuff. Stuff of life stuff. And I love the farm, for its peacefulness. When I am out there, I feel so relaxed. I don't know how else to explain it, it's almost like a drug for me. Must be the fresh air and dirt. So I loaded up the girls, the dog and the bicycles and went to my peaceful place. Siblings - don't be chagrined - I didn't do any work while there. I picked one cantaloupe - out of the refrigerator. And that was it. Instead I took photos of my girls. They rode their bikes up and down that road, over and over. The youngest, not being much of a cyclist yet, decided to smell, and taste the flowers. I think she decided they don't taste so good. Do you see any girls in this photo above? They wanted to hide in the cornstalks and jump out at me. The pink kind of gives it away...

 I have know him for almost half my life now. 19 years ago, September 29th, at dinner in the OSU cafeteria, I met my husband for the very first time. Oh, I had heard about him before, from my brother. But this is the day I finally met him in person. I thought about scanning in a poster from those days .. but I'm not ready to live with that embarrassment. I can't believe it has been 19 years of my life with him in it. And he has been fully in my life since that day. Five long, but necessary, years after we met, we got married. And it has never been dull around here since.

The truck with the trusses arrived today. Try and say that 5 times fast! Actually they arrived Monday morning. Unfortunately, we were unable to get them all across the roof. So they sit up top there in a stack, waiting, waiting, waiting. Still, it is one step closer to having a roof over our heads so to speak. It also happens to be 'spirit week' at our son's school this week. The first day he had to dress in something neon colored. Back in the day I'm sure both my husband and I could have easily outfitted him. But these days ... the only neon item we own in the whole house is a running jacket. My son wore it ... but I think it was reluctantly. At least is was neon orange! and not green! Today was crazy hair day. And since he needed a hair cut.... Well last night we decided to get him ready for crazy hair day. G shaved a cross in his hair and he went to school with 4 tufts of hair sticking up on the sides. Such bravery.

The internet and the computer have both been acting ... wonky. So I haven't blogged in awhile. But 'we' have been busy working on the house. In the past 4 days, with many helpers, G got the inside walls up in place. We've tarped against rain, and fixed part of the roof for the coming storm. We've had stressful nights, long hot days, and a bunch of 'family' time up on the 2nd story. One morning, while finishing breakfast, we heard a knock on the back door. Who could it be?! My brother took the day off of work and surprised us, coming over to help G with building. Over the weekend, G employed some cheap labor - our minions - and they got some more inner walls built and in place! I think the past month has had quite an affect on the children. I found them building houses for their toys ... on the dining room table.

The fourth wall went up yesterday. It seemed a lot quicker to me, because it didn't have the siding on it, and we didn't have to wait for a crew to help put it up. G, and I, and the Boy did it ourselves. There were a few minor mishaps in the process, but 'we' got it straightened out and nailed into place! So now we can lay out some boards and get an even better view of how the rooms will lay out. Trusses and roofing to come soon! We also celebrated a birthday 2 nights in a row. We 'had' to celebrate on Tuesday because I knew we would be at Awana on her actual birthday evening. The two older sisters put their money together and bought a gift for the Princess. I was blown away by their generosity! Some kids really enjoyed the birthday cake! This is also the night that Little K asked to try mustard, and ketchup. She can now say 'please' in her little baby way, to ask for what she wants. It doesn't always happen, but it's a start! So...

Today this little girl of mine ... is 6 years old. She makes me laugh; she makes me tear my hair out; her belly laugh can always make us laugh out loud. She still thinks she is the Baby Princess, even though her little sister is starting to steal that spotlight. Happy Birthday to my sweet little M.

We had helpers come over this past weekend. It's great to be from a large family. (I think I might have mentioned that once before.) My husband put out a call for help (email is also a great invention!) and the next day 6 people showed up. My parents, (who somehow missed the photographer), came over. My sister and my two brothers and sister-in-law were also here. What a relief and a help it was for my husband. Which in turn blesses me. Because when Daddy isn't happy, no one is happy. And the project was becoming a bit stressful for this man. Although he looks pretty relaxed here. And then this morning (Tuesday) - wonderful progress, more happy dances - two more walls went up! The contractor was able to come by really early and lift the walls with his tools and helpers! My son was already off to school, so it will be quite a surprise for him when he comes home. The girls however, got to twirl around up there, imagining where their new room and bathroom will be....